MLB Betting News and Notes Saturday, July 5

MLB Betting News and Notes Saturday, July 5

MLB: Streaks, Tips, NotesSportspic.com

Toronto Blue Jays at Oakland A's

The matchup between the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays Saturday night at O.co Coliseum looks to be another low scoring pitcher's duel as Scott Kazmir trades pitches with Mark Buehrle. Kazmir is 5-1 with a miniscule 1.61 ERA in seven home starts this season and has won four straight in front of the friendly crowd allowing a total of three earned runs. Buehrle may be winless in five starts but the crafty southpaw is off a sharp 8 innings of 2 run ball and did blank A's in his only appearance here last season. Consider 'Under' knowing the series is a perfect 5-0 'Under' this season, A's are 6-1 'Under' at home w/Kazmir , A's have a sparkling 20-5-1 'Under' stretch vs the A.L. East, Jays have cashed 11 of 15 'Under' tickets in Buehrle's road starts vs a team with a winning record.

Re: MLB Betting News and Notes Saturday, July 5

Scott Kazmir has been on-fire for the Oakland Athletics on O-Town. Kazmir is 4-0 in his last four starts at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Kazmir has onl given up four hits per game and less than one run per game, leading to four straight unders as well.

Lackey keeping Orioles bats at bay

John Lackey has helped bettors to a 1-5 over/under record in his last six starts against the Baltimore Orioles.

In those six starts Lackey has only given up 19 runs, which averages out to 3.2 per game.

Hernandez struggling at Cellular Field

Felix Hernandez has been unable to lift the Seattle Mariners over the Chicago White Sox as U.S. Cellular Field. The Mariners have gone 0-4 in the last four starts by 'King Felix' in Chicago.

Hernandez gives up almost seven hits per game and four runs per game during that stretch.

De La Rosa has been terrible against Dodgers

The Colorado Rockies send Jorge De La Rosa to the mound in hopes that he can change a terrible career against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies are 3-12 in De La Rosa's last 15 starts against the Dodgers.

Spanning the past 10 of those starts, De La Rosa has given up 40 runs, while giving up five or more five times.

Brandon Moss, Oakland - Ques Sat

Moss left Friday's game after twisting his left ankle and is questionable to play Saturday against the Blue Jays.

Smoak goes from Mariners' DL to Triple-A

First baseman Justin Smoak is off the Seattle Mariners' disabled list and headed to Triple-A.

The Mariners demoted him Friday after he missed almost a month of the season with a strained quadriceps. At the time of the injury, Smoak was struggling at the plate with a .208 average, seven homers and 29 RBIs in 63 games. He was batting only .191 in his last 56 games.

In four seasons with the Mariners, the 27-year-old has a .227 career batting average with 67 home runs and 204 RBIs.

The Mariners plan to continue to use Logan Morrison at first base and Dustin Ackley and Michael Saunders in the outfield. Corey Hart will serve as the designated hitter.

Wright still out of Mets' lineup

New York Mets third baseman David Wright remained out of the lineup Friday against the Texas Rangers.

Wright has been out with a bruised rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

The club was hopeful that he would return Friday for the start of a 10-game homestand.

Wright missed the final six games of a 1-7 road trip and left the Mets (37-48) a season-worst 10 games out of first place in the National League East after being swept in a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves.

Wright was not with the team in Atlanta, instead receiving treatment in New York on his non-throwing shoulder that forced him out of the June 26 game at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Mets have avoided placing Wright on the 15-day disabled list while playing a man short for the past six games. Eric Campbell has been filling in for Wright at third base.

Wright had a 10-game hitting streak in which he was batting .385 with two home runs and seven RBIs despite dealing with discomfort in the shoulder for more than two weeks.

For the season, Wright is batting .277 with six homers and 41 RBIs.

Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado - Ques Sat

Tulowitzki did not play Friday due to right groin tightness and is questionable for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

Braves' winning streak reaches eight

Ervin Santana is showing signs of awakening from his midseason slumber.

The right-hander scattered six hits in 7 1/3 innings to pitch Atlanta to a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, extending the Braves' winning streak to a season-best eight games.

It was another positive sign for Santana, the free-agent signee who struggled since starting the season 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA. Santana (7-5) won his second straight start, lowered his ERA to 3.93 and improved his career record to 3-0 against the Diamondbacks.

Santana struck out six and walked one. At one point, he retired 11 straight batters before exiting after allowing two singles in the eighth.

David Ortiz, Boston - Doub Sat

Ortiz is not expected to be in the line up for game one of Saturday's double header against the Oriels.

Re: MLB Betting News and Notes Saturday, July 5

MLB Odds and Picks By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

LAS VEGAS -- Before the Oakland A's made the blockbuster trade with the Chicago Cubs that brought them pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, the LVH SuperBook in Las Vegas already had them listed as the 9-to-2 favorite to win the World Series, a number they say is already low enough that doesn't need to be altered after the trade.

The reason for making them the favorite prior to the trade was simple. This was an A's squad that already had the best record in baseball (53-33) and was leading the AL in ERA (3.18), runs scored (5.0 per game) and run differential (+1.5). Things were already looking as though Oakland would have their best opportunity to win a World Series since their last title in 1989 (not counting getting swept as a big favorite in 1990 by Cincinnati), especially without any dynasty in New York or Boston waiting for them in the playoffs -- two teams that have been a thorn in GM Billy Beane's 'moneyball' teams' side since 2000.

You have to give Beane credit for having the guts to give up 2012 first-round pick Addison Russell, a shortstop some like ESPN's Keith Law have rated as the No. 3 prospect in baseball (Can't wait for the Wrigley/Addison street/Waveland Avenue nicknames when he finally comes up).

For a team that may soon be out-priced with their main power sources after the season (Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss both eligible for arbitration next season), giving up top prospects is usually a big no-no, which in turn shows how hard Beane is swinging for the fences to make it all happen this season. The time was right to pounce on the opportunity, not only to make the A's better, but from keeping other AL teams from improving. They didn't just get one of the coveted Cubs, they got both of them.

Assuming both Samardzija (2.83 ERA) and Hammel (2.98) move into Oakland's starting rotation, making Tommy Milone into a long reliever, the A's now have five of the lowest 33 ERA's among qualified starters in baseball. How can any AL team compete with that? Maybe Detroit if Justin Verlander whips back into shape, but as of now, Oakland would be favored in any series against any AL team.

It seems like a no-brainer that both Samardzija and Hammel would be moved into the rotation. Oakland has a lot of ways to maneuver now and is prepared for anything that may arise. Who knows how long Scott Kazmir (A's 13-4 behind him) can keep his health going strong. After a great start, Milone has come back to earth, but the biggest area of concern on the A's pitching staff is their bullpen which now has Sean Doolittle as their closer after Jim Johnson quickly got booted out of the role in April.

Doolittle has blown two of his last three save opportunities while the entire bullpen has converted only 61 percent of save opportunities (20 of 33) this season which ranks 26th among the 30 baseball teams. Samardzija has been a starter since 2012, but did pitch in 75 games as a reliever in 2011 for the Cubs, and his strikeout ratio does make him attractive closer material. Of course, that's radical talk, and July has a long ways to go where Beane can find reliever to really strengthen this club, but it's just something to think about.

Meanwhile, over in New York, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman sat idly even after getting news that CC Sabathia is likely to be shelved for the season. Apparently, the Yankees' hopes were that Sabathia would be good as new when he came back and it would be like acquiring a big arm for the stretch run. The Yankees don't have a lot to offer, but you have to believe something could have been done to get one of those Cubs' starters. Is it not a big deal that Derek Jeter is in his last season and the AL East is very winnable?

For Cubs fans, they have to be excited about the future. They've got Theo Epstein building a monster in the minors where Russell joins SS Javier Baez, OF Kris Bryant, OF Jorge Solar, OF Albert Almora and 2B Arismendy Alcantara, all of whom ESPN's Law has rated among his top-75 prospects.

Saturday's Games

After getting swept in Toronto in late May, the A's look to be returning the favor in Oakland as they've won the first two of the current four-game set. The matchup tonight looks very favorable for the A's behind Kazmir as a -138 favorite against Mark Buehrle, who started the year on fire at 10-1, but hasn't won in his last five starts (Toronto has gone 1-4 in his last five starts, but Buehrle has gone 0-4). The A's have lost Kazmir's last two starts -- one of them a pounding by the Mets -- but he looked good on Monday at Detroit allowing only one run. At home, the A's have won his last four starts.

The Reds have won six of eight against the Brewers this season and Homer Bailey has gone 5-0 with a 2.80 ERA in his last five starts at Great American Ball Park. Bailey was also good on the road at San Francisco Sunday where he almost threw his third career no-hitter. The Reds have won both starts against Milwaukee behind Bailey this season. In the last one on June 13, it was against Matt Garza as well. Bailey was getting +105 in that one. This afternoon, Bailey is a -130 favorite. The Brewers have lost four straight and Bailey should make it five.

Re: MLB Betting News and Notes Saturday, July 5

Rays, Tigers hook upBy Sportsbook.ag

Tampa Bay (39-50) at Detroit (48-35)

The Rays and Tigers do battle Sunday night in the finale of their four-game series.

Tampa Bay has been having a dreadful season, but has turned it on lately by going 7-2 over its past nine games through Thursday. Six of those victories came against division rivals, and in the Rays' most recent series, they swept the Yankees in three games; allowing just seven runs in the set. But their offense was able to muster only two hits in their 8-1 defeat at the hands of the Tigers on Thursday, with OF Desmond Jennings (.241 BA) having one of those hits and is 5-for-13 with two doubles and two runs in his past three contests. Detroit has once again taken a strong five-game lead in the AL Central, coming away with victories in 12 of the past 15 contests entering Saturday.

Max Scherzer gave his club eight innings of two-hit, one-run baseball in the series-opening rout, and was backed by home runs from 2B Ian Kinsler, DH Victor Martinez and OF Torii Hunter. Kinsler has been on fire over his past 10 games coming into Friday, going 16-for-40 (.400) with two doubles, three homers, 10 RBI and nine runs. Sunday's pitching matchup is a great one, as Rays LHP David Price (7-7, 3.50 ERA) goes toe-to-toe with RHP Rick Porcello (11-4, 3.12 ERA) for the Tigers. The road has not been easy for Tampa Bay, as it has gone just 20-26 in away games through Saturday, but Detroit is a pedestrian 23-20 in front of its hometown fans this season. Over the past three years, the Tigers hold a 9-6 edge in this series, which includes a 5-3 record at home.

Amidst all of the frequent trade rumors surrounding David Price, he has managed to put together another solid season while dropping his ERA from 4.42 to his current 3.50 over his past seven starts. In that time he has posted five double-digit strikeout performances and 69 punch-outs in 53.2 innings (11.6 K/9). Overall on the year he has mowed down 10.5 batters per nine innings while having a miniscule 1.2 BB/9, but his 17 home runs allowed are tied for second-worst in the league. In Price’s last outing, he went seven strong innings while allowing only one run on four hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in a win over the Yankees. In his career against Detroit, Price has gone 4-1 in seven games (5 starts) with a 2.23 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, and has allowed just one home run in 36.1 frames.

DH Victor Martinez is one player that has owned the lefty over his career, going 8-for-17 with two doubles, three homers and 5 RBI. On the other hand, 1B Miguel Cabrera (1-for-14, 6 K’s) and OF Austin Jackson (2-for-14, 8 K’s) have had no luck in the matchup. Prior to Friday’s contest, the Rays bullpen has gone 14-14 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while saving 17-of-25 (68%) games. Grant Balfour has lost his job as closer and Joel Peralta (4.00 ERA, 1 save), Jake McGee (1.21 ERA, 3 saves) and Juan Oviedo (2.48 ERA, 1 save) are all getting chances to earn ninth-inning appearances.

Rick Porcello became the first Tigers’ pitcher since 1944 to throw two consecutive complete-game shutouts when he dominated Oakland in his last start, allowing just four hits while failing to record either a strikeout or walk. Overall in his past three starts (24 IP), Porcello has given up just 13 hits while holding his opponents scoreless and going 3-0. At just 25 years old, Porcello already has nearly 1,000 innings (975.1 IP) and has put together six straight seasons of double-digit wins despite striking out just 5.4 batters per nine innings over his career. He has been somewhat lucky in 2014 though, with batters hitting .266 BABIP, while he has held a career-high 75.7% of runners on base. Against the Rays, Porcello has gone 2-2 with a 2.73 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, and has given up just one home run in that time (33 IP).

OF Desmond Jennings is a solid 3-for-10 with 1 RBI in the matchup against Porcello, while 2B Ben Zobrist, 3B Evan Longoria, OF Matt Joyce and INF Sean Rodriguez have combined to go just 4-for-30 (.133) with six strikeouts against him. Through Thursday’s game, the Tigers’ bullpen has gone 11-10 with a subpar 4.61 ERA and 1.39 WHIP while converting 22-of-30 (73%) saves. Joe Nathan (6.16 ERA, 17 saves) is only 17-for-22 in his save chances and has already allowed five home runs in 30.2 innings.

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